Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has signed a $2.5 million contract with the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to conduct additional research on the potential health effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state. 

Hydraulic Fracturing

The move comes in response to growing concerns in four southwestern Pennsylvania counties where unconventional natural gas development is robust, and high numbers of childhood and young adult cancers have been reported, including more than two dozen cases of the rare bone cancer known as Ewing Sarcoma. Residents from the area have been pushing the state to explore any possible links between the cancer cases and natural gas development.

“We have heard the concerns from families and community members impacted by cancer and...